Shoppers not done yet

Thursday

Dec 27, 2007 at 12:01 AM

SouthCoast consumers took their time getting to the stores the day after Christmas, choosing to sleep in and bargain-hunt later, on what experts projected would be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

PHIL DEVITT

SouthCoast consumers took their time getting to the stores the day after Christmas, choosing to sleep in and bargain-hunt later, on what experts projected would be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Despite early openings and slashed prices on most of their stock, some local stores saw little activity until noon or later Wednesday. Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said that although the day after Christmas is considerably busy, the entire week leading up to New Year's Day is the real boon for Bay State retailers.

"It's a huge day, certainly a top 10 day on par with Black Friday," Mr. Hurst said, referring to the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, when retailers traditionally expect sales to put their books "in the black."

"I think retailers opened early because there definitely is the motivated shopper out there, but the reality is, most people are off this week and it's a more casual situation."

That was the case at J.C. Penney in the Dartmouth Mall Wednesday, according to customer service associate Shannon Mercer.

"We haven't been busy. It's picking up now, but not so much this morning," she said shortly after noon. "When I came in at 8:30, the parking lot wasn't very crowded at all."

At Winthrop's Hallmark, store manager Celia Felix said she expected business to pick up in the late afternoon through closing time, adding that the day after Christmas has been busier in the past.

"We'll see it busier closer to 7, people coming out to buy for the next holiday season," she said as about 10 people pored over Christmas cards in the early afternoon and waited in line with ornaments and snowman statues.

An hour before closing Wednesday night, the mall was bustling with people searching for sales. Although the parking lot was mostly full, customers had plenty of breathing room in many stores, where lines were short.

Customer service representative Dolly Fiano said the mall was so busy she could barely hear her phone ring. She said many of the people in the mall were children taking advantage of winter vacation.

"It's definitely not a normal Wednesday night," she said, adding that it reminded her more of a typical Friday.

Claire Botelho of Acushnet was relieved to see that J.C. Penney still had an assortment of Christmas decorations in stock Wednesday afternoon after she worked much of the day. Ms. Botelho said she ventures out the day after Christmas every year to shop for decorations, clothes and anything else on sale.

"I come before Christmas just to scope out what I want, and then I come back the day after Christmas," she said. "I'm bad."

Ms. Botelho said the day seemed about as busy as it is every year.

Troy Hebert of New Bedford was at the mall Wednesday afternoon to make an exchange. As he stood in line behind about five other people, he said he had prepared himself for the worst.

"I expected Faunce Corner Road to be backed up and to see people everywhere, but it hasn't been too bad," he said. "The day after Christmas, people aren't so rude."

Rita and Donald Camara of Tiverton, R.I., started their shopping around 2 p.m. Wednesday and said they would be on the lookout for more sales through New Year's Day.

"I got some gift cards for Christmas but I'm going to wait to use them because these prices are going to go down even more over the next couple of weeks," Mrs. Camara said.

The new year marks the end of what experts said was a successful holiday shopping season in Massachusetts.

"Our state is looking at a 2.2 percent increase in holiday sales over last year," Mr. Hurst said. "It was a solid season, not gangbusters, but any time we beat the prior year is good."

Nationally, sales were weak, according to Scott Krugman, a spokesman with the National Retail Federation. The NRF projected a holiday sales increase of 4.0 percent, almost 1 percent below the 10-year average and the slowest national sales growth since 2002.

"Expectations were incredibly modest this year," Mr. Krugman said. "Consumers have been challenged lately, especially in the months before Christmas, with the price of gas, the price of housing, a credit crunch, you name it."

Ms. Felix at Winthrop's Hallmark said business was good throughout the holiday season, even though local consumers are feeling financial pressures.

"The cost of living, in general, is so high that it limits people's options as to what they can do this time of year," she said. "Overall, we've done well for Christmas, although the two snow days earlier this month kind of hurt us."